'Fully loaded' Kodi box seller found guilty, faces £250,000 fine

A Hartlepool man has been found guilty of selling modified 'Kodi boxes' and faces a £250,000 fine.iStock, Kodi

A Hartlepool man has been found guilty of selling 'fully loaded' Kodi boxes and is facing a fine of £250,000. The case, brought by Hartlepool Council, marks a landmark step in the ongoing crackdown on the sale of TV set-top boxes modified to stream paid-for services for free in the UK.

The convicted Hartlepool resident was selling modified Kodi streaming devices for up to £1,000, reported GazzetteLive. Malcolm Mayes, 65, had also advertised his wares in a national magazine, targeting pubs looking to stream Premier League football without paying subscription fees. These advertisements allegedly claimed that the boxes were "100% legal."

"I hope this conviction sends a clear message that criminal activity doesn't pay," said Lord Toby Harris, chair of National Trading Standards.As well as the £250,000 fine – £170,000 to cover the council's legal costs and a £80,000 "Proceeds of Crime Order" – Mayes also received a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for a year. Mayes pleaded guilty to the charges brought.

"Mr Mayes knowingly sold these illegal boxes which breached copyright law, misleading small businesses by falsely claiming that these devices were legal," said Lord Toby Harris, chair of national trading standards in the UK. "I hope this conviction sends a clear message that criminal activity doesn't pay."

Teesside Council's trading standards manager, Ian Harrison also noted his hopes that the ruling would deter other sellers. "Mr Mayes should not be seen as a Robin Hood-type character," he said. "In selling these devices he wasn't stealing from the rich to help the poor. He was stealing to make himself richer."

The case follows five Kodi-related arrests made in Bolton, Bootle, Cheadle, Manchester and Rhyl in early February, as well as a high-profile case in Middlesborough where a local shop owner pleaded not guilty after being accused of facilitating the circumvention of copyright protection by selling modified 'Kodi boxes' in his store.